MINNEAPOLIS – Oct. 19, 2017 – After nine years of litigation, Winthrop & Weinstine successfully proved that industry giant Arkwright Advanced Coating, Inc. (“AACI”) infringed client Jodi Schwendimann’s patents covering single-step, iron-on image transfer sheets for dark colored textiles. Furthermore, the firm successfully protected Schwendimann against an allegation that Schwendimann’s companies infringed patents owned by AACI.

On Oct 18, 2017, the jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota rendered a verdict in Schwendimann’s favor, resolving the last and final lawsuit on Schwendimann v. Arkwright Advanced Coating, Inc, which began in 2008 against its predecessor Arkwright, Inc. and was refiled in 2011. Among other favorable rulings on this matter, the jury most notably found AACI had infringed Schwendimann’s patents. The jury also found AACI to have willfully infringed Schwendimann’s patents. With regard to AACI’s patents, the jury found one of them to be not infringed and the other to be invalid.

“I’m incredibly thrilled for Jodi. This long-fought battle is finally over and her business and integrity remains protected,” said Devan Padmanabhan, a shareholder at Winthrop & Weinstine who represented Jodi Schwendimann. “This David vs. Goliath battle is significant for inventors and innovation in the manufacturing industry and has the potential to set the standard for interference practices. We were able to guard these patents and rightfully preserve Jodi’s claim as inventor to this ground-breaking technology.”

The team of Devan V. Padmanabhan, David A. Davenport, Michelle E. Dawson, Britta S. Loftus, Nadeem W. Schwen and Justice Ericson Lindell have been working on behalf of Schwendimann on these matters for over nine years. In December 2016, Winthrop successfully represented Ms. Schwendimann in front of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which effectively ruled that she was the true inventor of the disputed image transfer sheet technology.